The Emperor's Champion
by Shortchannel4
Summary: Cassandra Cage, champion of Earthrealm, vanquisher of all evil, gets an invitation from the Emperor of Outworld to join him for dinner. "Wait, like a date?"
1. An invitation

**A/N: For some weird reason I like Kotal and Cass together. Weird huh? This story will eventually have sex scenes. If you like it, or have critiques, or just thoughts, leave a comment**.

* * *

Cassandra awoke with a groan, sliding the sheets off her as she walked with sore thighs to the nearby mirror. Pressing her hands on the wood, she took a deep breath before she looked at herself. Was she supposed to feel shame? She couldn't, not after that night. She discarded those thoughts as she wet her hands on the basin, the water cooling her face. "Did I make a mistake?" she asked herself.

She looked back at the man, snoring peacefully on his bed. His hands, the hands that were all over her body, inside her, were sprawled all over. She looked away, splashing more water on her face before covering herself with a nightgown. Cass walked out to the balcony, staring at the bleak landscape of Outworld with its emperor sleeping peacefully behind her.

"What have I done?"

* * *

Typing away, Cassandra Cage blew her bubble gum, letting it pop around her lips, before drawing it back in and chewing again. A small buzz came from her phone, like the sound of a small bubble bursting, signifying a text message.

 _Wat u doin?,_ Jacqui, ever the insightful one, asked.

Cassandra typed back. _Browsing Friendships, then hitting the sack._ She placed the phone back down as her eyes went back to Friendships. The social media site drew her in as she stared at a picture of Jacqui and Takeda. They seem happy together. She sighed at the thought, closing her laptop. As she was about to drop into her bed, her phone rang.

 _Dad,_ the caller I.D. revealed.

"Huh, kind of late," she said, answering the phone. "Dad, hey?"

"Hey pumpkin, um, we have a situation over here. You're kind of needed." Johnny Cage didn't ask for help lightly. There was no doubt in her mind that this was serious.

"Yeah, sure, I'll be right there." Cassie hung up and put on her uniform.

When Cassie arrived at headquarters, she raised her eyebrow at the unusual activity. Special Forces soldiers seemed particularly on edge and she saw her mother's on-base car parked there. That usually meant trouble. She walked passed them, giving them a nod, and headed inside.

"You can tell your Emperor, absolutely not!" She heard the shrill of General Blade shouting over someone. Cassie's mother was never quiet with her opinions. "Every time she's ended up in Outworld, something terrible always happened to her."

"She's a tough girl. She beat an Elder God for Christ's sake." That was the voice of Erron Black, a man who looked like he was cos-playing as a _2cool4me samurai cowboy OC,_ Casandra always thought _._ "It's an invitation not a coercion, a way to show respect and try to put this whole thing behind us," he said, sitting across from Sonya. His revolvers had been confiscated, placed on a bench nearby. Johnny, Cassandra's father, was there as well, and looked at her with concern as she came in.

"No, she's not going, end of story. Go back to Outworld, and never come back. Or I will shoot you," Sonya said, speaking with a finality in her voice that would make even the strongest of men whimper under her gaze.

"I think I can speak for myself," Cassandra said, letting a long pause stay in the air as Sonya glared at her, before adding "Mom". Cass turned her attention to the cowboy. "What do you want, Black?"

"The Emperor has extended an invitation for you, Champion, as a show of respect and a hope for peace between our two realms."

"Right, the guy who betrayed us and left Earth to burn at the hands of devil douche, thanks by the way, wants to make peace now?" she said through grit teeth, stepping near her mother.

"He is…deeply regretful, which is why he wants to apologize to you personally, kid," he said, his lips moving under his bandana.

"Just me?" she asked.

"You can bring an entourage if you want," Erron said, his fingers fidgety.

"But why me?" she asked again, with eyes narrowed.

"Because you are the champion."

"Like I told you, we're not interested, you go-" Sonya began saying, intent on denying the man again, before she was interrupted.

"Tell featherhead I'll think about it," Cassandra said as Sonya turned back to glare at her.

"Thank you Miss Cage." Erron stoop up. "I'll be taking my leave now," he said, waiting for the guard to bring him back his weapons. He holstered his pistols as a large, swirling portal opened behind him. "We'll await your answer," Erron said, stepping through the portal and into another realm, the swirling gate closed with a hum and leaving only the silence of everyone behind.

"Cassandra…" Sonya said as she stood up, her arms never leaving the table. "I didn't realize you had the authority to make decisions like that, Sergeant."

"Funny thing about that, _General_ , he asked me, not you," Cass said, staring down her mother.

"This is a matter of international security, Cassandra, this needs to go through the proper channels. And through my authority!" Sonya said, her voice bringing back memories of childhood scoldings.

"You don't even pay attention to my own file, do you? I guess that's how it's always been, Mom…" Cass turned to leave, saying "I've been on terminal leave for a month, my enlistment ends tomorrow."

"What?" her father said.

"You haven't reenlisted?" Sonya asked, her voice having lost its anger. Her mouth was open, as if disbelieving that her own daughter, challenging as she may be, would quit something she was good at.

"No, and I'm not going too. Consider me a freelancer from now on." Cassie walked away, leaving the stunned woman behind.

"Um, shit," Johnny said, following her outside. "Cass!"

There was a pleasant chill in the night air, Cassandra noted, and the stars with all their constellations seemed to smile on her. She turned to face her father "Dad, you're not gonna try to convince me to reenlist are you?"

"Nah. Tell you the truth I never wanted you to play soldier girl. But it was always your dream to be like your mom," he said with a smile. "Which is why this is all weird to me."

Cass grimaced, looking away. "I dunno, just seemed like the time you know? Want to go to a different direction with my life." She grabbed her sunglasses, putting them on. "Maybe I can be an actress, like you."

"You can't act," he rebutted instantly.

"I know," she said, taking them off.

"Cass…"

"Don't worry dad, I'll maybe get a degree now," she said staring back at the sky.

"But what are you going to do for money?" he asked, trying to figure out what she was looking at.

"Dunno, either way I gotta deal with this whole Kotal Khan thing. For all of us. By the way, can you get me in touch with Lord Raiden?" She asked. Johnny took a moment to respond.

"Yeah sure," he answered.

"And Dad?" she asked, with the same smile she would give when he came home everyday.

"Yeah?"

"I love you." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Drive me home?"

"Sure, pumpkin."

During the next week, several calls were made, in between moving off-base and into an apartment. Cassandra Cage was a civilian now, no longer Sergeant Cage, just Cass. But there would be no rest for the young champion.

"Hey Jin, thanks for coming!" Cassandra waved as Jin got out of his car. "Not wearing your archer get up?" she asked, noticing how he was wearing normal special forces fatigues, instead of his usual shaolin attire. He opened his trunk and grabbed his bow.

"Hey Sarge," he said, giving her a high five.

"Not Sarge anymore."

"I know, I was being sarcastic." Cass rolled her eyes and then looked down to the severed cybernetic arm she was holding, it's wires sticking out like ripped arteries. "By the way, Lord Raiden approved, which is the only reason your mom is letting me go with you."

"Good," she said.

"Why didn't you call Jacqui or Takeda?" Cass examined the arm further, before she gave her answer.

"They're on vacation, I didn't want to interrupt them," she answered. "Are you ready?" Jin looked back at his car, confused.

"Aren't we taking the special forces portal?"

"Heh, no. I swiped an old Lin Kuei cyborg arm. These things can open portals everywhere," she said with a snicker.

"Cass, you are just bad."

"No, you haven't seen bad yet." She pointed the arm and pressed a button on it's console, and a large portal opened, shocking the bystanders nearby. "I probably should have done this somewhere else," she said, as she felt the stares of everyone on them.

"Eh, if this goes well, this will probably be a normal thing," Lin said, stepping towards the portal. "Come on, let's kick ass. With diplomacy." Cass smirked and followed him through the vortex. On the other side, they both treaded into the open air market of Z'Unkahrah, the portal closing behind. Several Outworlders stopped to stare at their sudden appearance, but lost interest fairly quickly. Outworlders tended to dress in archaic fashions, and in this area, most civilians covered their heads on account of the heat and sand.

"Weird, I put the coordinates for inside the palace, instead we're out here," Cass said, shaking the cyber arm as the hot winds of Z'Unkahrah blanketed her face, her sunglasses the only thing shielding her eyes.

"I'm sure the Khan's place has wards against that kind of stuff," Jin noted, looking around and reaching for his cell in his pocket. "Huh, five bars."

"Oh didn't you hear? After Mileena was deposed, some cellphone companies somehow approached Kotal about setting a service here. See?" Cass pointed to a small metal tower on top of a building, where several antennas and other comm devices were strapped in. "And look," she further exclaimed, nudging him to see a few outworlders walking around with cellphones.

"Well, shit. How?"

"Lobbying and money. They were pressuring mom and the president to let them back in, but she was being paranoid about it. As usual," she recounted, blowing up her gum. "Marc Zuchinburg even set up Friendships for Outworld." She showed Jin her phone, with showed the profile of Outworld brewer and grandmaster Bo' Rai Cho'. He posted a status update, with a picture in some pub in Earthrealm, drink in hand and the caption _Vacation in Earthrealm, Rice Wine is best wine #Perspective #YLAT._

"Well, damn, let's see if we can get Outrealm open to business then."

"Kung Jin, Miss Cage," Erron Black called from across the market, flanked by two guards. Cassie noted the soldiers; Outworld's militia styled themselves with war paint after the Osh-Tek, Kotal's extinct race, in their honor. These particular guards had make up akin to skulls on their face.

"Sup' Black," Jin greeted. "Still sore over that beatdown I gave you?"

Erron sighed and looked to Cage. "The Emperor is glad you accepted his invitation, he is waiting for both of you. Come this way." Erron motioned for them to follow, quickly escorting them to the large fortress that eclipsed the entire city. Cassandra's eyes drifted to the public forum, a humble construct of stone and clay with one step elevating the would-be speaker before the crowd. Kotal would give self-important speeches here, and the people ate it up.

She gave a low grumble at the thought, and then hissed lowly when she saw the giant statue of him being constructed by slave labor. Outworld allowed this, and smiled, because at least he wasn't Shao Kahn. Or Mileena.

"You look distressed, Miss Cage," Black said, staring at her with their corner of his eyes.

"Go polish your pistols, Black," she answered back, glaring at him. As they continued walking, she took in the architecture of this city. She had been briefed on this before, apparently the Osh-Tek inspired Mesoamerican civilization; done so by sneaking into Earthrealm and pretending to be deities as some kind of "coming of age" ritual. She wondered just how much they had meddled in the development of Earthrealm cultures. Perhaps something she could scream to Kotal later.

They entered the palace, the main entryway guarded by two more guards, with several more littered inside, standing idly. Kotal Khan's throne room wasn't that particularly big, at least not compared to the pictures she's seen of Shao Khan's throne. Red velvet drapes were hung around the tight pillars and ceiling.

The throne itself was an impressive piece of architecture, however, the sides made of black pieces of stone and a large golden emblem nested at the seat top. The arm rests curled out then inward with a large symbol on each side. The top of the throne had two drapes which hung from it to parallel pillars. At the base were scattered human skulls, littering the floor and no one bothering to pick them up. _Skulls, really? Might as will be petting a cat and going muahahahaha._ She looked back at the seat. _It's no Iron Throne_ , _but it's okay I guess_ , she thought before she focused on the man himself.

 _And he's no Joffrey,_ she added. Kotal Kahn, emperor of Outworld, the "usurper", sat there conversing with a well-dressed man of some sort. He was shirtless, his teal blue skin showing under the little clothing he wore. He was certainly an impressive specimen of a man, Cassandra thought, with his lean muscled body and well-built chest. His calves and thighs showed the results of peak fitness, even under the weird feather boots he wore. _And don't even get me started on that red miniskirt,_ she thought, looking at his loincloth before focusing on his face.

She couldn't see his hair on account of that feather headdress, assuming he had any. For all purposes, the mane of feathers took its place, extending backwards from behind his helmet. He had a wide, almost flat nose and several black horizontal piercings on the nasal bridge. She smiled at the thought of them lighting up in a pattern like a flight line, signaling planes to land. Another large black piercing was in his nostrils, the same kind edgy teenagers can buy in Hot Topic. _Okay, I shouldn't make fun, that's his culture. Plus, mallrats are the ones that are culturally appropriating, not him._ Even though his glowing eyes could be unnerving, he was good looking, in a way. Not that she would sleep with him or anything. Probably.

Cassandra pulled on her own collar and cleared her throat. Kotal made a motion, silently dismissing everyone from the room, including Erron. "Cassandra Cage, Kung Jin, welcome back to Outworld. I promise these are better circumstances than our prior meetings." His voice was deep, and a little too smooth for her taste.

"I hope so, cause the last meeting you kind of betrayed us," she retorted, blowing her gum on point.

"My apologies for that," he said, standing up. "Let us discuss this elsewhere. Come." Kotal led them away from the throne room and into an open balcony, where Z'Unkahrah was laid out before them. "Earthrealm has advanced rapidly in terms of technology these past few centuries. It leaves this realm and others in shame. At what point does it become indistinguishable from magic?"

"What, you want more cellphone towers?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Cellphones, "com-puh-ters", those metal objects you throw to the heavens which give a wider signal," he said, staring up at the sky.

"Satellites?" Jin asked.

"Yes, that. We are willing to reopen trade and allow migrations between realms. To share our wealth with yours." The Emperor's tone was calm. Of course, she's never seen him really lose _his shit_ , at worst Cassandra considered his former outbursts just "mildly upset". Still, Cassandra thought he seemed rather hopeful at that moment, and earnest. Kotal Kahn, for all his faults, was hardly a villain.

"I'm sure a lot of people, mainly Fortune Five Hundred billionaires, will be glad to hear that. But, there are a bunch of folks back home still sour over that stunt you pulled in the Sky temple," Cass said, looking away from him and gripping the balcony edge.

"I was brash and foolish. I should have believed you and helped your team secure the temple against the revenants. D'vorah's betrayal greatly upset me." His glowing eyes narrowed as he mentioned that name. "But alas, there is little I can do except extend my apologies and goodwill."

Cass raised her eyebrow at him, smiling. "I guess as Lord Raiden's representative, I have the authority to accept or not. We'll need to go over some details first." For the next hour the three of them discussed possible trade between the realms. There wasn't much Cassandra could do except relay this information to any interested parties back home. But, at least there would no longer be any silence.

"This is agreeable," he said in the end, nodding and even having his sual sotic demeanor broken with a small smile.

"Alright, Jin here will share this with Lord Raiden, who'll share it through our channels." Jin nodded as he looked over what he wrote down. "I don't know who's gonna handle portal access, probably mom and the U.N."

"Yes, allowing free access so soon might be chaotic on both our ends," Kotal said.

"Alright, well I think we're good. If there's nothing else, Emperor?"

"No, and thank you both for accepting my invitation." Kotal shook Cass' hand and then Jin's. Erron walked in, waiting to escort them back to another portal. "Actually, Miss Cage, there is one more thing," he said. Cass turned around, walking back in front of him.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner some time?" he asked. Cass' eyes widened slightly and suddenly felt the Emperor's unyielding gaze.

"Wait, like a date?"

"What's a date?" he asked, confused.

"It's…never mind. Sure, I'll join you for dinner," she answered.

"Is tomorrow at dusk convenient for you? By the way, this has no relevance to the relationship between our realms."

"Yeah, I'll call," Cass said and walked away with a harried nod.

"You're gonna do this?" Jin asked in a hushed tone.

"Sure, why not? It's not the craziest thing I've done," she whispered back.


	2. First Date

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews and favs.**

* * *

This time, the portal opened right before the Khan's palace and the guards were instantly spooked, grabbing their spears. But, they relaxed when they saw who it was, however. As it was, nights in Z'Unkahrah were deathly cold. Cassandra instantly wrapped her arms around herself in response and paced herself up the steps to the palace, shivering all the way through. Since the guards weren't trying to kill her, she assumed she was expected. Otherwise that would be very rude.

As she stepped in, the light sources, magic and stone sheltering her from the cold, she fixed the top of her dress. "I should have bought a coat," she said, bringing up her feet and dusting the sand off her heel. Her dress was modest enough, blue in color and going past her knees. Considering how some women, especially Edenians, dressed, she wondered if she looked like a prude.

"Weird how no one's waiting for me, not very gentle-many of you Kotal," she said to herself. But on cue, Cassandra spotted a dark skinned man walking up to her, wearing a red man-dress and expensive looking jewels. "Hello, I'm here to see the Khan."

"Cassandra Cage," he said in a familiar voice. Cass raised her eyebrow and examined him further, before realizing who he was.

"Oh shit! Emperor, it's you. You're not actually…blue." Indeed he wasn't. He was a slightly lighter shade of color than Jacqui. And he had hair; long black hair that reached just past his shoulders. He still had the piercings on his bridge nose, but removed the one on his nostrils. Cassandra blushed, he was actually…handsome.

"Blue? No that's war paint," he said.

"Of course! N-not that there was anything wrong with blue skin color! That would be racist of me. Which I'm not!" she rambled. He raised his own eyebrow and gave the lightest of smiles. "It's just…good to see that there's a man under the Emperor," she said, blushing more.

"Please come this way, dinner is almost ready." There was a pause as they walked. "I heard you are no longer in the Special Forces."

"Oh yeah, didn't renew my contract," she said, as they neared some stairs.

"Did that disappoint people? I imagine the General was none too happy."

"Nop, she hasn't talked to me in weeks. You've met her, you know how she is," she said, frowning. She could see Sonya's disapproving face right now, Cass wondered what her reaction would be this. _She always did say not to date older men_ , she thought.

"General Blade cares about you greatly, that I do know. I can't comment on your situation further, since I'm not familiar with the concept of voluntary military service. Is it an Earthrealm thing?" They reached the second floor and continued down a hall, several servants politely bowing to them.

"It's not an 'Earthrealm' thing, most countries these days don't press their civilians into mandatory service. Though in the U.S. everyone, after their eighteenth birthday, has to sign up for selective service, in case some shit goes down and we gotta reactivate the draft. For a few decades, it was only men that needed to sign that, but now it's for both genders," she explained. "They almost reactivated the draft when Shao Kahn invaded years ago, before I was born, but that situation was cleaned up fairly quickly."

"But what made you want to leave Miss Cage? If you don't mind my questions." The Emperor glanced at her, awaiting her reaction, expecting a shutdown for invasive questioning.

"Nah its fine, I like talking about myself. As for your question, I don't know if you know this, Kahn, but being in the military sucks," she said, with a well-timed bubble gum pop. "Twenty mile ruck marches, hours of formation, the shitty 'shut up and wait' attitude, the general dickery people could display, I can go on with all the faults of army life. But the worst is they just ask for too much of you, and it can potentially eat away your life. Like mom." She was silent for a moment in their walk, as if contemplating her frustrations.

"Don't get me wrong," she corrected. "I took pride in my work, and felt a sense in closeness with my friends there. I liked what I did. It's just not cool to have you mom as your commanding officer."

"My father was my war leader, we had little disagreement," he said.

"Maybe your society doesn't separate your job as a parent or profession. Plus, your people were warlike. You, your dad and all the Osh-Tek had an easier time when all you lived and breathed was war. No offense or anything."

"None taken," Kotal said, as they both reached a small private dining room with a view of the city. "And you're ultimately right, in our culture, there was no difference between a parent or a warleader." He pulled out her chair, inviting her to sit.

"Thank you," Cass said, sitting.

"So, now that you're a civilian, what are your plans? Do you still make an income?" He sat down across from her, there was little room separating them now.

"I'm using the G.I. bill," she answered. She glanced at his eyes; he had lowered the usual glow they had. It was still hard to make out his pupils, but they were there.

"What's a G.I. bill?"

"It's money that the government gives veterans to pay for school."

"Ah, a compensation for warriors, a sound plan," he said as a servant entered the room with two plates.

"I saved up a bunch of money, but I'll still need a job soon enough. Either way, I'm gonna just chillax for a year before looking for work again." A plate was placed in front of her. She prodded the meat with her fork. It smelled good, whatever it was. "What's on the menu?"

"Ram meat, rice and maize." He waited for her to take the first taste.

"Corn grows here?" she asked, before taking the first bite.

"Only in this region." She ate more, munching loudly and quickly.

"It's good," Cass said, taking another bite. Kotal finally took a bite as well, eating more slowly than her. Two more servants came in, one placing two glasses while another poured a beverage from a jar. "Trying to get me drunk, Emperor?"

"I will be severely disappointed if you got inebriated after one glass of wine, Miss Cage," he said, taking a sip himself.

"Pffft, I can drink you under the table."

"I don't doubt it," Kotal said as Cass downed half the glass. She made a disgusted noise after.

"Ugh, Bo' Rai' Cho' was right, Outworld wine does suck," she said, before taking another sip.

"I'm not much of a drinker, Miss Cage. I can't really tell the difference," he said, putting the wine down.

"And can we drop this 'Miss Cage' stuff? Just Cass, please." She took another swig and emptied her glass.

"As you wish…Cass," he said, the name rolling off his tongue slowly, uncomfortably. There was a simple pleasantness to her name. _Cass,_ and yet something so small contained so much power. A power to end gods.

"So, how old are you exactly?" she asked, shaking Kotal from his thoughts, putting her hand on her cheek and awaiting his answer.

"I can't put an exact number on it, but around seven hundred." The number rang through the air, as if it was nothing. And it was nothing, even as Cassandra dropped her fork in surprise. She knew people there could get old, after all, Lord Raiden was ancient himself. "I see you're a bit perplexed, we Osh-Tek live long compared to Earthrealmers."

Cass cleared her throat and focused on another question she had had. "Tell me about _realmwalk._ " This time, Kotal nearly dropped his fork.

"So, you know about that?" As Cass' smile confirmed it, he began explaining "Young Osh-Tek complete a ritual, realmwalk, as you said, early in their youth. We leave home and trek through another realm, alone and returning from a realmwalk is a sign of adulthood."

"What kind of realms?" she asked, eyes intent.

"Usually barbaric realms, like Chaosrealm or-"

"Earthrealm," she answered for him. He looked down for a second, then back at her.

"It was a far more dangerous place before. My father did his realmwalk there as well, in the Mayan Empire, where he became known as Kukulkan, the feathered serpent."

"So you did influence their culture!" she said, giving an accusatory glance, but having long lost the hostility. The past was the past after all.

"Or perhaps they influenced us, where do you think we learned sacrifice? From the Olmecs, who lived long before I was born, in Earthrealm. We were primitive once as well. Our magic and long life notwithstanding," he said, taking another sip of wine. "When I walked there, the Mayans had long since collapsed their own empire. They were fighting themselves and the Spanish hordes from across the Atlantic. I helped one city dominate their enemies; I taught them how to drink the blood of their enemies. But I was teaching them self-destruction instead." His voice was somber, Cass was starting to regret bringing this topic up.

"Self-destruction? How?"

"In drinking the blood of their enemies, the Mayans were plagued by weakness. Earthrealmers are not supposed to drink human blood. I returned to a ruined city and left as the foreign armies marched in. I've stayed away from Earthrealm since," he said, a noticeable strain in his voice. _This was obviously a painful memory for him_ , Cass thought.

"I'm not much of a historian, but what probably happened there was smallpox. It's not that drinking blood is bad for you, but it certainly didn't help curb the plague. You'd be surprised at how many 'vampires' these days drink blood as part of their 'lifestyle'," she said, with a noticeable roll of her eyes.

"Vampires? Those of Vaeternus have come to Earthrealm?" he asked, concerned.

"Vaeternus? What? No, I mean Goth kids that think they're being edgy. What I'm saying is I'm sure you tried your best, but the collapse of the Maya was not your fault," she said, just about finishing her food. "So there wasn't much you can do during your realmwalk."

"It matters not, my people are gone," he stated, pushing his own plate forward.

"Oh yeah, 'cause of the Shokan, I wasn't there. I'm sorry." There was an incident not too long ago, before the whole Shinnok mess, where the Shokan marched against Kotal Kahn. Thanks to the trickery of the warrior Rain, who blocked the sun, thus weakening the Osh-Tek army, the Shokan slaughtered them. Prince Goro personally killed Kotal's father in kombat. Obviously, the emperor would prove the victor in the long run, but at great cost.

"Its history now, Cass, the only way to move now is forward," Kotal said, finally offering a smile. "I see you're done, would you like seconds?" Cass looked down to her empty bowl, scarcely realizing she had finished.

"Oh no, I'm all corn-ed out for the night. It was good though, compliments to the chef."

"In that case, would you like to take a stroll?" Cass looked at him, he motioned towards the outside.

"Sure," she said, getting up and following him. The emperor and his date left the room, going down several floors into the rear of the palace where a massive courtyard awaited them. Koa'tal gave her a coat to brave the chilly night. "Madam?" he asked, offering his arm.

"Oh, how gentle-many of you," she said, hooking arms with him and walking together towards the courtyard. There were a few guards patrolling through the night, but no one else to interrupt them. It was certainly a romantic gesture, Cassandra thought, more so than any man has given her. "You know, I'm surprised Kotal, that you haven't tried to lavish me with gifts."

"I don't suspect you're a woman that can be bought, Cassandra," he said and then added "and please, call me Ko'atal."

"Coatat?" she asked, her face scrunched in confusion.

"Co-ah-tal" he corrected.

"Ko'atal. So, that's like your real name?" They walked deeper into the courtyard, where a large pool of water reflected the night sky above them.

"My birth name, yes," he confirmed, as Cassandra looked at herself in the water. Alongside the pool were floating gardens. They were filled with beautiful flowers of all kinds, rising out and bringing beauty to the otherwise bleak landscape of Outworld.

Cassandra turned to Ko'atal, gazing into his eyes. "Oh that's right, I got you something," she said, reaching into her pocket and placing a small object on his palm.

"What is this?"

"It's a pen drive, you stick on a computer. It has a bunch of shows and movies that I'd thought you'd be interested in," she said, as he stared at it. His eyebrows were raised, his eyes intent on the object like if he had just discovered an incomprehensible alien artifact.

"I don't have a computer," he said as he looked back at the younger woman. There was disappointment in her eyes for a brief moment, so he quickly said "but I can procure one, thank you." Then there was another round of awkward silence between them. Cass looked away, brushing her blonde locks behind her ear as she blushed heavily

On first dates, if Cassandra liked the guy, she would kiss him as a possible invitation to a second outing. _Does Ko'atal fit the bill though?_ she thought, feeling tiny under his gaze. _He's been nothing but a gentleman to me, pulling out my chair, giving me a good dinner and taking me for this walk._ It was more than most first dates usually went, although perhaps she was being a bit unfair in that comparison. "Ah, what the hell," she said, puckering and leaning into his face. Their lips met softly, she was especially eager and his surprised expression was something she would laugh about later.


	3. Second Date

**A/N: Sorry for the tardyness y'all, but we're back on track now. This chapter has sexual content.**

* * *

"What do you want?" There wasn't a whole lot of people in the realms who can skyrocket Sonya's blood pressure past healthy ranges. She can keep calm in most situations, unflinching; she was Special Forces after all. And her dad had taught her better.

"My hands. All over you." But sometimes, that annoying, self-centered voice from a man that she swore descended from Narcissus himself, could get to her. She didn't even need to turn around to feel his presence.

"Go away, Cage," she said, shoving her paperwork down a filing cabinet. She turned and faced him, frowning at his ever present grin.

"I'm a contractor, not one of your soldiers, can't boss me. General." Sonya grimaced further and turned from him.

"Cage."

"Can I speak for a moment, please?" he asked. "Have you talked to our daughter lately?"

"Not since that day, no." Sonya turned and faced her ex-husband, the one and only John Carlton. Age had barely left its mark on him. With only a few streaks of greying hair and the barely noticeable wrinkles on near the edge of his nose.

"You're going to make that first move? Or are you just going to let her do all the work while you scowl from the distance?"

"I am not scowling!" she shouted. "This is her decision, her prerogative! She's not in the military anymore, not one of my NCO's, I can't do anything. She can talk to me when she wants too." She was in his face, her finger almost at his bridge. "And your buddy, Secretary Blake, is loving all this diplomatic talk with Outworld."

"Who are you angry at? Really?" Johnny said, stepping closer to her.

"At Myself! I'm angry at myself, Johnny! For being so damned blind to see that my own daughter hates my guts. Because I treated her like a soldier more than my flesh and blood. And now, I don't have a daughter, or a sergeant." And at that point, she found herself in his arms once more, letting the tears flow onto his chest.

* * *

The sounds of gunfire erupted, blood and death screeching in her ears. At the end of her scope, heads were blown off as the gurgled screams of her enemies died out in the air. "Oh baby a triple!" Cass said, putting down her controller.

"Fucking camper piece of shit, go die in a fire!" A voice which could very well belong to a prepubescent boy shouted at her from across the T.V.

"Suck on your mom's tits, kid, leave this to the pros." Before there was any response, she signed off the lobby and then shut the whole system off. "Shit, time flew by," she said, looking at her watch. "I wish I had a friend who could control time or something. Or I could control time. Whatever. At least I'm already dressed." She looked down, noting her jeans and t-shirt that said Max.

There was a knock on her door, and she nearly dropped her phone. "Shit! Hold on!" She nearly sprinted, opening the door only to see an angry black woman staring back at her. "Jacqui?"

"Girl, we need to talk." Jacqui brushed past her, leaving the stunned Cass to close the door. "What's this I hear about you resigning and having an outworld adventure without me?"

"Just some peace talks, that's all!" Cass said, walking past her with her hands raised slightly, as if trying to calm Jacqui.

"Bull. Shit."

"Hey, let's leave tha-"

"I heard you went there twice, the second was to shack up to Kotal Kahn. You were all dolled up. Like if you were going on a date."

Cass grit her teeth and whispered "Damn it Jin."

"So, it's true?"

"Oh, come of it, Jacqui."

"Let me guess, he was non-surprisingly horrible, and you're not seeing him again," Jacqui said, as Cass turned her head away. "Cass. No!"

"What? He was a gentlemen," she said, crossing her arms.

"He's a barbarian!"

"Hey that's not a nice thing to say about Osh-Tek culture. Get your Earthrealm privilege checked," Cass said, stifling her laughter. Before Jacqui could respond, there was another knock on their door. Jacqui answered it.

"Did you order something from the Taqueria down the street?" she asked Cass, turning away from the large man in the door.

"No…Jacqui."

"Miss Briggs, a pleasure to see you again." Jacqui turned, her mouth and eyes wide as finally recognized the man. He walked in, the shocked woman letting him pass. Much like Cass before, she was surprised at his lack of war paint and most of his piercings.

"Jacqui, this gentlemen and myself have a prior engagement, I don't want to say I'm kicking you out, but…" Jacqui scoffed and walked to the door. Her dreads looked like if they were about to snap.

"Fine. Fine. I know when I'm not wanted," she said, looking back to the emperor with eyes narrowed. "And you…if you ever…just, ugh," she blabbered before storming out.

Koa'tal and Cass looked at each other before bursting out into a laugh. The emperor's deep voice echoed in the room. "Ah, that was funny. Glad to see you're here, but you're not going out dressed like that." Ko'atal looked down on his red parqua.

"You said to come casually."

"Modern casual, not fifteenth-century Yucatan-peninsula casual. I have some of my dad's old clothes, hold a minute." The emperor was then shooed into her bathroom, where he changed into some of Cage's old clothes. Jeans, sneakers and a green shirt that said 'Cinco de Mayo'. "There we go, you just look like a really tall Mexican guy now," she said as he came out of the bathroom.

"What's a Mexican?"

"It's-nevermind, let's just go, we're running late." She grabbed her keys and purse before heading out to door with him.

"Does Miss Briggs disapprove of this?" He asked as they went down the stairs.

"Pfft, no. But don't take it personal, she's never liked any guy I dated." They left through the door and walked towards her car, while Cash reached in for her beeper.

"She's an intimidating woman."

"Well, I mean, she did beat you once," Cass said, as her car's alarm lit up after unlocking.

"Miss Briggs is exceptionally strong, it almost felt unnatural." Cass plopped into her car seat as Ko'atal moved into the passenger side. His large frame was constricted in such a small place and his knees almost touched the airbag.

"Pull the crank at the side there, push the seat back," she commanded, Ko'atal doing just that and pushing his seat back. "And yeah she is strong, she's beaten me in sparring matches in the simulator." With a turn of the key, the car's engine hummed to life. She drove off the lot and onto the busy street. "Her **Full Auto** fighting style is pure bullshit. If this was a video game, she would have been nerfed a long ass time ago." There was an ethereal silence after she said those words, Ko'atal chose not to respond at all, assuming he could. "But this isn't a video game, so yeah, she's a pain in the ass. But she's been my bestie since we were in diapers."

"It's good to have lifelong comrades," he responded. "I've acquired a computer and saw the "shows" you gave me."

"Which one did you see?"

"The one show about dragons and western style feudalism. The general plotline reminds me of the civil war of Outworld."

Cass smiled and asked "Who's your favorite character?"

"Stannis Baratheon," he said almost instantly.

"Of course it's Stannis. You're a Stannis kind of guy. All about 'order' and 'debts' and all that."

"And who's your favorite character so far?"

"Daenerys fucking Stormborn of course."

"Of course. You're a Daenerys kind of woman," he said, causing her to smile. "Where are we headed too, Cassandra?"

"Movie theatre," she answered.

"That's a theatre that shows movies I'm assuming?"

"Yup, on a big screen, you'll see. In fact here we are." The car pulled up to a small shopping outlet. Kotal saw adolescent earthrealmers roaming around in droves, along with some older people coming in and out of the shoplett like termites on a tree. No doubt everyone present was a slave to their hormonal urges, acting only somewhat better than beasts.

And when he looked at Cass, he realized he was no different.

"We're seeing a movie called BrownStreak, it's a shitty action flick with a good actor though," she announced, as she began backing up into a parking spot.

"Much like Ninja Mime I heard."

"Hey, Ninja Mime is a fucking cult classic." The car stopped and the engine stopped humming, only the sounds of the vast sea of people around them. "BrownStreak stars Mokap, not his real name obviously. He's Hollywood's premiere motion capture artist, this is his first film where he actually acts. He's a good friend of my dad and an excellent fighter too. In fact, he held off a Netherealm force in L.A. just by himself."

"Impressive," Kotal said, as Cass went to grip his hand. He looked away to hide his blush as they walked hand in hand to the theatre. The ruse had worked in perfection were his thoughts as they approached the ticket booth, no earthrealmer knew that the Emperor of Outworld walked among them.

"Two for BrownStreak please."

Cassandra received the tickets and walked in with Kotal, going into their specified hall. They quickly took their seats as the trailers started while Cassandra explained each upcoming movie. And then BrownStreak itself started. In the first five minutes, Mokap lost his entire family to Algerian human traffickers. Then he began an action packed roaring rampage of revenge that began to pile more bodies than a plague.

But the movie soon began to bore Cass, the constant shootouts and action scenes were just not the same anymore. Not when she's lived more than these Hollywood dolts could ever dream of. Not counting her father of course.

She peaked at Ko'atal through the corner of her eyes. And he, unlike her, was focused intently on the movie. His eyes were glued on it like if BrownStreak was the greatest piece of entertainment in the realms. It was cute, almost, but he would have to watch the movie in its entirety later.

On second dates, if she liked the guy, Cass would give them an _old-fashioned_. And there no point in denying it now, she liked Ko'atal, so she wouldn't treat him any different. Emperor or not. She reached for his thigh, gently trailing it up from his knee. He stiffened at the contact, muffling his own gasp. Cassandra smiled widely and grasped his thigh hard.

Ko'atal didn't budge, nor look at her direction, but Cass could see the struggle in his eyes. She moved her hand over his zipper and opened it. The emperor stifled a groan as she reached in grabbed his length, pulling it out of his pants.

It was already stiff with barely but a touch. Cass wondered how harder it could with just a few more strokes. _Oh, much harder indeed_ , she thought as she began to stroke it. The emperor grit his teeth, but continued to pretend to see the movie. Cass stroked, grinding her hand up and down his shaft like a polished pole.

Ko'atal's discipline stood firm, and so did something, and he was trying to hide his embarrassment. Thankfully there was no one behind him, but there was another couple of a few rows below. And not counting a chance encounter with the cinema laborers, or employees, or whatever. Cassandra Cage was a witch, in his centuries of life, never had he attempted to court a woman like this, on a second outing, getting pleasured with his hand, discreetly. While watching digital theatre.

And yet, that kiss from the other day still plagued his dreams, he wanted more of Cass. Her quips, he sharp tongue and, of course, her body. His mind pushed the most perverse thoughts on him, and all the things he wanted to do to her flashed before his eyes as Cass continued her torment. He was close, _damn it._

Cass' grin widened as she heard his low moan. She grabbed a tissue and placed it over it like an umbrella before he came hard. She held the tissue firm as it got coated with his Osh-Tek flavored juice.

She zipped him back up, and then discarded the tissue under the seat. Then, she pressed her palm against the edge of her nose and gave two short sniffs, followed a wide leering smile at Koa'tal. The Emperor's crimson face looked away from her, and there was little else during the rest of the movie. By the time it was over, he hardly remembered anything.

* * *

 **A/N: I don't think Kotal is the kind of guy that would burn his daughter. Probably.**


End file.
